Key loop holder and locking means therefor



Jan. 22, 1952 M. v. DUELL KEY LOOP HOLDER AND LOCKING MEANS THEREFOR Filed March 9, 1948 INVENTOR- A/OAG/I/V 1 DUELL BY A TTO/P/VEY Patented Jan. 22, 1952 gum-Tao STATES PATENT OFFICE KEYJLOOP HOLDER AND LOOKING MEANS V THEREFOR Morgan V.- Duell; Oakville, Conn.

Application; March 9, 1948; Serial No. 13,885

1' j This invention relates to locking d'evices for securing keyretaining loops to the holder or positioning member of a key container.

Itis common practiceto provide a key containerwith a holder in the form of a plate having'an edge thereof rolled; into, thevform of a barrel with slots formed in thebarrel for receiving key retaining loops. The loopscustomarily have shanks which extend through the slotsand are provided with heads or projections located within the barrel to support the loops in place. Each slot has an enlargedopening at one end thereof through which. the head on the shank of the loop maybe. passed-in applying or removing a, loop from the barrel of theholder.

In some instances a locking device is slidably movable within thebarrel into or out of position to cover the enlarged openings at the ends of the slots and thus prevent accidental removal of the key retaining loops from the holder. However, such locking means have previously been provided with springs for urging. and holding the locking member in position to cover the en!- larged openings at the ends of the slots and have embodied numerous parts, each of which must be separately fabricated and assembled in producing the finished device. Such locking devices are further objectionable because they, will not remain in a releasing" position unless positively held against the action of the spring and as a result it is frequently diflicult or troublesome to insert or remove the retaining loops into the holder.

In accordance with the present invention a novel type of lockingdevice is provided which directly with the holder to yieldably retain the locking device in either its locking or releasing position whereby the number of parts employed is reduced and the operation of the locking 3. is in the form of a single element'cooperati'ng means is simplified and rendered more convenient.

Oneof the objects of the present invention is to provide a novel type-of locking device-for a holder in a key container;

Another object of the invention is to provide 5 Claims. (01. -456) 7 In-the drawing: Fig. 1 is a perspective of a typical form of holder-plate and'locking device embodying the present invention; f Fig; 2 isa perspective of the locking device embodied in-"the construction shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top'plan view of the assembly illustrated in Fig. 1; and v I y Fig.- 4 a bottom plan viewof the holder plate illustrated in Fig. 1.

In" that form of the invention chosen for purposes of illustration in the figures of the drawing' the holder plate isindicated at 2 and isprovidedat one edge with an upwardly and inwardly turned .portion forming. a rounded barrel 4 having slots, Bextending circumferentially of the barreL. These slots are provided with enlarged openings 8' at that end of the slot located adjacent the bottom of the plate 2 as shown in Fig l. The slots are thereby formed to receive key retaining loops 9 each of which is formed with a shank having an enlarged head II which will pass through the opening 8 but will not pass throughthe slot 6. h The key retaining loops, the holder plate and the barrel and slots thus formed are'of generally; conventional form and the invention is therefore applicable to substantially any'- of 'the usual or'preferred types of holder plates employed in keycontainers.

QInacc'ordance with the present invention the edge l'llof that portion ofthe plate which forms the" barrel 4'is'cutaway-at I 2'to form a longitudinally extending slot adjacent the upper face ot=the-plate '2 and a pair of spaced notches or openings M and l6 are formed in the plate 2 adjacent the-slot l2; Therecess His hereafter referred to as the locking recess; whereas the recess: lfiis referred'to as thereleasing recess.

The locking device employed is illustrated in Fi'gx'2 "and-embodiesa member 20 having spaced tongues which. extend rearwardly from the plate-and are separated by theinotches 24 which correspond inlocation and width to the enlarged openings '8-at-'the"lower-ends of the slots 6. The memberlfl and th'etongues 22 are curved in cross section so thatthe member will slidably fit within theccentral opening "26 of the barrel 4 permitting: easy "sliding movement of the locking member within the barrel. The member 20 is therefore longitudinally movable with respect to the: barrel? 4 of the holder *plate and a finger piecenfis bent at -righti angles to the neck- 30 on one r end of; the member 20 soithat the finger piece :will. project outwa'rdfrom the barrel 4 'adjacent one end: thereof in= position'topb'e readily engaged: and. moved by" the user-is finger.

from the slots. When in the loop releasing DOSi-l tion the locking member is located so that the slots 24 between tongues 22 register with the em head [I of the loop to the end of the slot and withdrawing it through the opening 8.

The locking member is limited in its 1011a."

tudinal movement by engagement of the shoulders 34 and 36 at opposite ends of the edge 32 with the adjacent ends of the slot l2 in the edge I!) of the barrel 4. A guiding tongue 38 extends beyond the shoulder 36 of the locking member to bear against the inner face of the barrel and prevent lateral displacement of the locking member with respect to the barrel 4.

The edge 32 of the locking member is provided with a locking strip 40 which is connected at its opposite ends to the member 20 but is separated from the edge 32 throughout the central portion thereof by means of the. slot 42. The locking strip 40 is provided'wlth a downwardly projecting detent 44 of such sizethat itwill readily enter either the locking recess H or the releasing recess [6. As shown, the locking strip 40 is stepped outwardly from the edge 32 of the locking member 20 and is of suflicient transverse width to give it such resiliency as will allow it to be flexed so that the locking detent 44 may be moved into and out of engagement with the locking and releasing recesses l4 and I6. Since the detent 44 is located near the center of the locking strip 40, it is movable by reason of flexing the strip so as to yieldably engage the locking and releasing recesses and hold the locking device in that position to which it is moved by operation of the fingerpiece 28.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, one edge of the locking strip 40 extends through to the slot 12 and over the locking and releasing recesses I4 and I6 so that longitudinal movement of the member 20 will cause the detent 44 to enter the locking and releasing recesses upon longitudinal movement of the member 20. The recesses I4 and H5 in the plate 2 are therefore spaced apart in a direction parallel to the barrel 4 a distance at least equal to the width of the enlarged openings 8 in the slots 6. In this-way the locking plate is movable to either a locking position in which tongues 22 of the locking plate cover the enlarged openings 8 in the ends of the slots 6 to hold the key retaining loops 9 positively in place and to a releasing position in which the slots 24 between tongues 22 are'aligned with the enlarged openings 8 in the slots 8 to permit removal of the key retaining loops from the holder plate.

With this construction the locking plate is yieldably movable to each position and is retained in that position to which it is moved until positively moved therefrom. By using a suitably tempered metal the locking strip 40 is made sufficiently durable to withstand repeated manipulation thereof and further is providedwith the 4 spring action necessary for positively holding it in position. At the same time only two simple elements are employed each of which can be produced by simple stamping operations. The danger of breakage or failure of the parts is thus reduced and the cost of producing and assembling the parts is materially decreased. I

While one preferred form of the invention has been illustrated in the drawing and herein described it will be apparent that the shape of the elements and the arrangement thereof may be varied considerably without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The embodiment shown is therefore intended to be illustrative only and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

"I claim;

1. A key loop holder including a retaining plate having a tubular barrelintegrally formed at one edge of the plate, said barrel being provided with circumferential slots each formed with an enlarged opening through which the headed end of a key retaining loop may be inserted, said plate having a pair of spaced detent receiving recesses disposed in front of said barrel, a locking member movably mounted within said barrel to be selectively positioned in loop releasing or loop retaining positions, said locking member being provided with a locking strip integrally connected at its opposite ends to said portion of the locking member by projecting arms for disposing said strip in front of said barrel in line with said recesses, and a detent formed at an intermediate part of said strip and selectively engageable in said recesses to yieldably retain said locking member in locked or unlocked positions.

2. A key loop holder including a retaining plate having a tubular barrel rolled up at one edge of said plate with the edge of said barrel having a longitudinal slot disposed adjacent the upper face of said plate, said barrel being provided with circumferential slots each formed with an enlarged opening through which the headed end of a key retaining loop maybe inserted, said plate having a pair of spaced detent receiving recesses disposed in front of said barrel, a looking member movably mounted within said barrel to be selectively positioned in loop releasing or loop retaining positions, said locking member being provided with a flexible locking strip integrally connected at its opposite ends to said member by projecting arms extending through said longitudinal slot in the barrel and disposing said. strip in front of said barrel in line with said recesses, and a detent formed at an intermediate part of said strip and selectively engageable in said recesses to yieldably retain said locking member in locked or unlocked'positions.

3. A key loop holder including a retaining plate having a tubular barrel rolled up at one edge of said plate with the edge of said barrel having a longitudinal slot disposed adjacent the upper. face of said plate, said barrel being provided with circumferential slots each formed with an enlarged opening through which the headed end of a key retaining loop may be inserted, said plate having a pair of spaced detent receiving recesses disposed in front of said barrel, a locking member movably mounted within said barrel to be selectively positioned in loop releasing or loop retaining positions, said locking member being provided with a flexible locking strip integrally connected at its opposite ends to said member by projecting arms extending through said longitudinal slot in the barrel and disposing said strip in front of said barrel in line with said recesses, a detent formed at an intermediate part of said strip and selectively engageable in said recesses to yieldably retain said locking member in locked or unlocked positions, and offset shoulders provided on the edge of Said locking member adjacent said strip and adapted to abut the opposite edges of said longitudinal slot as a means of controlling the longitudinal movement of said locking member relative to said barrel.

4. A key loop holder including a retaining plate having a tubular barrel integrally formed at one edge of the plate, said barrel being provided with circumferential slots each formed with an enlarged opening through which the headed end of a key retaining loop may be inserted, said plate having a detent receiving recess disposed in front of said barrel, a locking member mounted within said barrel and axially movable with respect to the barrel to loop releasing or 100p retaining positions, said locking member being provided with a locking strip connected to the locking member and having a yieldable portion extending generally parallel to the axis of said barrel and disposed in front of said barrel in line with said detent receiving recess, and a detent carried by said yieldable portion and selectively engageable in said recess on axial movement of the locking member to yieldably retain said looking member in locked position.

5. A key loop holder including a holding member formed with a barrel having circumferential slots therein for receiving key retaining loops and enlarged openings at the ends of said slots through which the head of a key retaining 100p may be passed, a locking member having a portion movable axially with respect to said barrel into and out of a locking position in which said enlarged openings are so restricted as to prevent the passage of the head of a key retaining loop therethrough, said holding member having an extension projecting from the barrel and said locking member having a yieldable extension overlying said extension of the hoiding member adjacent said barrel, said extensions of the looking member and holding member having cooperating detent and recess means thereon positioned to engage and yieldably hold the locking member in said locking position on axial movement of the locking member with respect to said barrel.

MORGAN V. DUELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 915,536 Baker Mar. 16, 1909 1,070,178 Radford Aug. 12, 1913 1,691,637 Buxton Nov. 13, 1928 1,906,858 Hillyard May 2, 1933 1,922,755 Buxton Aug. 15, 1933 1,959,207 Howe May 15, 1934 2,026,185 Lupfer Dec. 31, 1935 2,114,172 Boden Apr. 12, 1938 2,145,477 Geller Jan. 31, 1939 2,394,507 Zarowin Feb. 5, 1946 2,407,153 Hanna Sept. 3, 1946 

